Album Review: Meshell Ndegeocello – Devil’s Halo (2009)
Rating: 4 out of 5 potholes
Buy Now! Meshell Ndegeocello – Devil’s Halo
Morose, minimalist yet expansive, and truthful are the proper adjectives for describing Meshell Ndegeocello’s 8th studio album Devil’s Halo. The over 40 year old singer-song writer-musician has submerged her talents to create albums with sounds ranging from straight ahead R&B to lo-fi Funk to Dub to Jazz. While those elements are still present, Devil’s Halo is an unapologetically alt rock album carried along with Brain Eno-esque ambient textures. Meshell literally crafts the identity of this album with five pieces: Her voice and bass; Chris Bruce on guitar; Deantoni Parks on drums; and Keefus Ciancia on keyboards. What results is a concise emotive piece of music that with 12 songs barely breaks the 36 minute mark, and adequately depicts the conflict of the modern romantic dealing with a history of broken promises and being lovelorn.
The tender echoes that begin “Slaughter” quickly give way to the heavy metal of Chris Bruce shredding on guitar and Meshell’s haunting lyrics exclaiming “my love will leave you slaughtered / if you see it coming, i’d run the other way”. These powerful soft and hard elements of musicianship and song writing are found throughout Devils Halo, whether within a song, or from one song to the next. “Mass Transit” reminiscent of the best of Joy Division, addresses loneliness in the big city, and “White Girl” interestingly touches on interracial desire. “Lola” one of the more up tempo songs, filled with the rapid staccato drumming of Parks, continues with more of Meshell’s brutal honesty: “a wife is just a whore with a diamond ring… everyone thinks they’re so fuckin’ special…” Lyrics as such, within the varied atmospheres of the songs, create many moments of pause and reflection.
As the album nears its end my personal favorites emerge. “Bright Shinny Morning” is a subtle funky romp basically telling all the culture vultures trying to manipulate the gift of one’s artistry for profit, no mas! “Blood on The Curb” ironically the wordiest of any of the songs, is the best written of all. Through its restrained rock pomp, clearly articulates how we can’t force our selves to love anyone if we don’t feel it. Ultimately, what makes Devil’s Halo so damn good and effective, is that it’s not trying to be profound through word or sound. By focusing more on phrasing than lyrics, and melody than the gusto of any of the musicians showing off their solo abilities, Devil’s Halo is a self assured contemplative collection of songs. It’s a moody piece about a lover(s) who doesn’t want to give you the sun moon and stars, or claim you or themselves to be so damn wonderful, but that we all have our baggage and are very cautious about giving our love to another human being. Its this level of understanding that not only shows the depths of Meshell and company’s musical competence, but makes Devil’s Halo one of the years most enjoyable albums.
